Flora and Fauna: The Gournzee region is completely free
of humanoid monsters. The few that dare
enter from the Endworld Line mountains are rapidly dealt with by the
varkhas. White and green dragons are
known to inhabit the region and the surrounding mountains, but normally they do
not attack the lizard men; other creatures are deer, wolves and several species
of woodland creatures.

Further Reading: None.

Description by Giulio
diSergio-Orsini.

The Land

The Duchy of Gournzee is a mountain kingdom of a race called
Varkha, underground lizard men. Most of
the towns are built on the mountainside, and stretch underground. The capital Eel Gaurn is completely
underground.

The People

The varkhas are smaller than their more common lizard man
cousins, being four to five feet tall, but they possess similar physical
characteristics. The varkhas can hardly
be regarded as a friendly race, and they do not like humans, or any humanoid
race for that matter. They have purged
their land of all humanoids, and are among the stronger military powers of the
region... but unfortunately their race has a very, very slow rate of population
growth. Many varkhas are born sterile,
and the child mortality is very high.
Normally a female lays two to four fertile eggs during her long lifespan
(nearly 400 years), but only one is in general lucky enough to survive. The varkhas are, incredibly, friendly toward
the Djikarti. They do not actively
discourage visitors to their nation, but are quick to avenge any perceived
offences, and the local laws do not protect strangers in any way.

A small community of Djikarti gnomes from Szekesh live and
work in the region, mostly providing their expertise in engineering. This often seems strange to outsiders,
especially since Gournzee is ruled by a harsh militaristic regime, supervised
by the Church of Pearl.

[Note: Mystaran
varkhas are not totally like the AD&D ones found in Dragon Annual #1.
For more information on Mystaran varkhas see The Wyrmsteeth
Gazetteer by Giulio Caroletti.]

History

The varkhas arrived in the Klagorst region in AC 434. Their traditional history says that they
were guided there by Pearl, after the destruction of their northern homeland,
located in a system of underground caverns in northern Hyborea. The reasons for the destruction have never
been revealed to strangers. Anyway,
their patron Immortal Pearl told them of a land where they could settle. Their high priest at the time, Jesska, led
them to Szekesh, where they were told to kill the troglodytes and free the
gnomes of the country, which they
succeeded in doing over the following years.
Although the Djikarti feared that the varkhas would turn out to be new
oppressors, their liberators let them be free, and asked them to help build a
cave system under the Endworld Line that would eventually constitute the Duchy
of Gournzee.

The varkhas remained fierce enemies of the Stygian
troglodytes during the following years.
Avoiding as much as possible any contact with the human populations that
settled down in Brasov and Klagorst, the varkhas were able to lead several raids,
called crusades by the varkhas, against the Stygians. Ten such crusades were carried out, some successful, some not,
but the conflict has remained limited to these occasions due to the distance
involved, and the presence of Vrancea.
During the same time, the varkhas wiped out all the humanoid tribes of
the region.

More recently, three more crusades were led in the last
fifteen years (AC 1002, 1007, and 1014) thanks to Duke Nhorg of Vrancea, who
allowed the varkhas passage through his lands to reach Stygia, much to the
indignation of the troglodyte representatives of the Confederacy of Klagorst.

Do Miss

Well, just the thought of coming here is a bad idea for
anyone who doesn't have a good reason to do so. The varkhas do not care for strangers, and when I say "don't
care," I mean it: no inns, no taverns, a total indifference toward you, apart
from guards that forbid anything to anyone...
I didn't have a pleasant stay.
However, I think there are potentials for the empire to [censored by the Central Diplomatic Office,
Foreign Department, Thyatis. Ed.].